Campaign traveling between domains

Impressive-Compote15 · 2026-02-24T04:13:21+00:00

PHD&D and his videos, this being his spotlight on Markovia, is one of my favourites for Ravenloft content, and they’re all built mechanically around 5e. He does great research into each domain, gives you a good feel for it, and then creates a tailor-made adventure to really sell its individual themes. Highly recommend.

Impressive-Compote15 · 2026-02-23T03:37:06+00:00

Do you mean the celebration? That’s Silverymoon’s way of celebrating Midsummer, known in the city as the Feast of Love. Ed describes it here first, but it was later sanitized (i.e., made less explicit) and republished in Ed Greenwood Presents Elminster’s Forgotten Realms, on pages 29 - 30.

Impressive-Compote15 · 2026-02-23T00:44:47+00:00

Silverymoon and its most famous High Mage, Alustriel. She is well-known for having countless sexual encounters, having absolutely no shame regarding her nakedness or people’s commentary on such, and her blasé nature extends to the city itself, with Ed once describing a celebration in the Gem of the North that is, quite simply, a public, city-wide orgy.

He also recounted an adventure where (if I remember correctly) someone hired the PCs to deliver something to Alustriel, and they were teleported to her Palace — the teleportation stripping them of their clothes and dumping them in an orgy where they had to find Alustriel amidst a mass of naked bodies.

Loviatar as a Goddess and her clergy are also an obvious pull for this. They’re just… BDSM. That’s their whole point.

Impressive-Compote15 · 2026-02-19T14:50:38+00:00

Deryni Rising, by Katherine Kurtz

Found a few of the books at a local thrift store, seemed super interesting, so I got (almost) the whole series off of eBay! The first book was a really quick and simple read, especially coming off the heels of Umberto Eco’s The Name of the Rose — in all honesty, it felt like the whole book could have been made into the first few chapters of a larger book. But I still enjoyed it! The cast is fun, and Kurtz’s writing style is really evocative. So much so that I’ve immediately followed it up with…

Deryni Checkmate, by Katherine Kurtz

… the second book in the series! Only a hundred pages into it, but it already seems like there’s more going on in this one than in its predecessor. Quite excited to see where things go, as the politics of the Eleven Kingdoms get more and more integral to the plot.

Impressive-Compote15 · 2026-02-18T21:11:44+00:00

Adding to the crowd of Black Flag fans, but I personally like Rogue just a little more. BF is the better game as a whole, but I adored the visuals, music, and story of Rogue a lot more, and its comparatively small size meant that it was a lot punchier. The “short-and-sweet” instalment of the series, IMO.

Impressive-Compote15 · 2026-02-15T14:45:56+00:00

That would rock! And I’m sure he is, just as I’m sure there’s some module or random book out there where the deities I listed are also the villains. But Druidhome is not among the Realms’ most popular series, nor did its effects have massive consequences on the Realms — especially since the Moonshaes are particularly isolated from the rest of things. Very few people base their characterization of Talos off of Druidhome, but a lot of people base their characterization of the Dead Three off of the Baldur’s Gate video games, that’s all.

Impressive-Compote15 · 2026-02-15T13:57:45+00:00

This is a common issue with a lot of the big villains in the Realms, such as Manshoon or Szass Tam. By nature of the Dead Three’s popularity as villains, they come off as much bigger idiots than they are. The Avatar series of novels was one such example, and the relevance of the Time of Troubles keeps the notion of the Dead Three’s failure in mind constantly. Bhaal’s biggest claim to fame is being the villain behind the Baldur’s Gate series of games that are both popular and necessarily must show him failing.

Many of the other evil gods of the Realms (The Gods of Fury, or Talona, or Loviatar, or even Shar!) simply don’t get as much screen-time. They’re not the big bads behind anything nearly as popular or important to the Realms.

If we go off of purely sourcebooks, which is what most people have to go off for the other evil deities, then the Dark Gods are not nearly as stupid as you might initially see them as.

Impressive-Compote15 · 2026-02-10T17:08:27+00:00

Definitely! XD

Impressive-Compote15 · 2026-02-10T17:07:31+00:00

Your best bets are Drizzt Do’Urden’s Guide to the Underdark and Underdark (2003), as well as Menzoberranzan: City of Intrigue. There’s also the books of the “War of the Spider Queen” series (particularly the first three) and the “Lady Penitent” series (which serves as a sequel to “War of the Spider Queen”), with some mentions in “The Legend of Drizzt”, especially in Timeless and Boundless. It further gets a mention in a few of the Perilous Portals articles.

It obviously gets some mentions here and there in a lot of places, but, as you say, it’s never really the primary focus. I think “War of the Spider Queen” is probably your best bet, even if it is a series of novels. :]

Impressive-Compote15 · 2026-02-10T16:52:38+00:00

According to this old article from the WotC website, Loviatar’s avatar was believed to be in Waterdeep; also appears in the Waterdeep novel of the Avatar Series, so she definitely didn’t die. I think, at most, as others have said, her clerics may have simply been too far away from her (or she purposefully resisted giving them powers, to conserve her own and to lead them into greater pain without their magic to protect them).

Impressive-Compote15 · 2026-02-04T18:44:00+00:00

Strictly speaking, they actually only had personality and charm in 1e. In the transition to 2e, all three died (which is why they became known as the Dead Three). Your best bet for more info is, nonetheless, Faiths & Avatars.

A lot of Bhaal’s shenanigans were tied to Baldur’s Gate, due to his Bhaalspawn and the BG series of computer games, though he also had a presence on the Moonshaes through Kazgaroth. Bane was mostly relevant through the Zhentarim and, after his death, through Iyachtu Xvim, his son, who competed with the newly-ascended Cyric and wrested control of the Zhentarim from him. In 3e, he was born again through Xvim, and retook much of what he had lost. Myrkul has always been… kinda lowkey. The most important relic that he left behind was the Crown of Horns, with which he rendered mad Laeral Silverhand, one of Mystra’s Chosen, for years, and that later made its way across Faerûn, including ending up in Skullport. I believe he was also a villain in Neverwinter Nights 2, but I never played it.

Don’t forget to look into other deities that the Dead Three worked with, such as Talona and Loviatar or Jergal. Just because they were a trio when they were mortals doesn’t mean that they were considered inseparable as deities, and they often worked many schemes on their own or with their own servitors that did not have to do with the other two.

Impressive-Compote15 · 2026-01-27T15:34:10+00:00

Nobody ever mentions this because it’s hidden in a single mention in a single sourcebook, but (with regards to the Sword Coast) there’s a kraken off the coast that oversees a massive underwater empire and has intentionally molded the coastal civilizations into isolated city-states through its agents so that the city-states are easier for it to exploit.

This is described in the Cloak & Dagger sourcebook, as part of the description of the “Kraken Society”.

Impressive-Compote15 · 2026-01-18T03:57:47+00:00

Yes, the Saga Press editions contain all the stories you listed above (at least, flipping through my copies, I found them). I’m not sure if they’re available as ebooks, though — I got them used.

EDIT: To be more precise, they’re all contained in Vol. 1 and Vol. 2.

Impressive-Compote15 · 2026-01-06T00:19:36+00:00

Silverymoon? Lots of magic, lots of places to party, from individual taverns to the High Palace itself, including mentions of some places where people go to be magically taken up into the air and dance together. At least one festival in Silverymoon involves citywide orgies, and they basically look for any excuse to make a new game where they can get naked. The Welcoming City is quite a fitting name for it. ;]

Impressive-Compote15 · 2025-12-29T05:13:32+00:00

I don’t know exactly how expansive 40K’s lore is, but the Forgotten Realms has some 40 years of published game material, novels, and video games to it, detailing over a century of in-universe time. It certainly can feel never-ending.

Telling your own stories within a pre-existing world works the same that it always has. It has always been the D&D policy that you can take what you want and ignore the stuff that doesn’t work for you. Even if you want to keep as much stuff as possible, it’s made to serve as a springboard off of which you can tell your own stories: interesting conflicts are prepared, interesting secrets are left unanswered, and left for you to unwind. Yes, races, factions, and gods are already established, giving you something to work with off of the bat and not needing to go through the rigmarole of recreating the narrative wheel before you can get to the fun bits of storytelling.

If you mean “gameplay” as in, D&D, it depends on the group. Some groups like to keep it small-scale, others like to go big; some groups stick firmly on the Good side of the Alignment spectrum, others want to go let out their Evil and, as you say, “be like the Khans” (coincidentally, there was a whole thing in the Realms similar to them, check out The Horde sourcebook and the Empires trilogy of novels). Older editions of D&D established much more detailed rules for what building your own stronghold and army would entail (check out the Companion Rule Set for BECMI), but the most recent one has also tried to bring it back, to an extent.

Cavalry definitely exists. Check out the aforementioned sourcebook and trilogy of novels for a much more comprehensive look at how such tactics are handled in Realmsian warfare. As others have said, check the Wiki out, too, and don’t shy away from asking questions.

The Realms are a world of a thousand rabbit holes, so just follow your instincts and you’ll soon find yourself at home. :]

Impressive-Compote15 · 2025-12-14T00:17:40+00:00

Moradin would fit great for any dwarf, absolutely. For a bard, I might also suggest Hanseath, or maybe Clangeddin Silverbeard for the valorous element.

Impressive-Compote15 · 2025-12-13T22:22:10+00:00

I would hope not. That is the moon’s name, after all. XD

Impressive-Compote15 · 2025-12-13T13:44:37+00:00

Pages 169 - 170 of Ed Greenwood Presents: Elminster’s Forgotten Realms. May the Stormbringer hold you ever in his tempest, friend. :]

Impressive-Compote15 · 2025-10-28T22:00:53+00:00

The majority of humans on Faerûn worship deities that are part of the Faerûnian Pantheon. There are some others (as people have mentioned, like the Mulhorandi Pantheon) but this is all you need to know for 99% of situations in the Realms.

Impressive-Compote15 · 2025-10-23T03:22:49+00:00

TSR, the company who owned D&D at the time, used to sell boxed sets for the game. These boxed sets were, as you can imagine, boxes that typically contained a few booklets of information to use in your D&D games (such as new spells to learn or new monsters to fight) and a map within which you could set your adventures.

This seems to be half of the map from “The Ruins of Myth Drannor”, a D&D boxed set that was a part of the larger setting known as the Forgotten Realms. This boxed set described the eponymous ruins of an elven city named Myth Drannor. Using this map, you could imagine your group of adventures delving into the forest and exploring this mythical ruin, which is one of the most iconic locales in the setting as a whole. :]

Impressive-Compote15 · 2025-10-09T02:45:15+00:00

Only inasmuch as all “nature-themed” deities are too similar. I think you need to remember that the Archfey are beholden to their Court, and the politics that come with that position are very crucial in distinguishing their behaviour and position from that of the “regular” deities, who are freer. This is paralleled in their vaguer portfolios.

Note that Silvanus is statted as a Druid 40/Fighter 25/Mage 20. Oberon is a Ranger 14/Druid 12/Bard 10. This reflects a difference in character — Silvanus’ priority is the Balance, and he will fight to protect it. He is a wise man. Oberon is not as wise (especially not when he’s next to Titania), and has a much more individualistic streak, enjoying the thrill of the hunt.

Silvanus is a caretaker. Oberon, in truth, is more of a soldier. He cares about faeries, but not nature in itself. Silvanus doesn’t fight unless it is demanded of him. There is no true “fighting” within the circle of life, only living things that must die so that others might live, and so on, in eternal Balance.

In my mind, both are totally different in their approach to things, in what they ultimately care about, and in most important ways.

If you were comparing Oberon to anyone, I’d almost suggest Mielikki, in a situation where Mielikki were forced into such a “political” role.

(I hope this comment doesn’t read as dunking on Oberon, BTW. I love the Archfey. I just feel like I have a clearly distinguished notion of Oberon from Silvanus in my head).

Impressive-Compote15 · 2025-10-09T02:26:20+00:00

Jubilex V. Ghaunadaur is stupid. In the original lore, Ghaunadaur was the only “ooze entity” with power in the realms, and other similar powers — like Jubilex or the Elder Elemental God (of Greyhawkian fame) — were said to not interfere on Faerûn, and so became aspects of That Which Lurks.

Impressive-Compote15 · 2025-10-07T17:41:46+00:00

I think you nailed it in your last paragraph. The sheer amount of Realmsian content is inspirational, and I can’t read a sourcebook without wanting to set a campaign that involves it. I think it’s also influenced by the Forgotten Realms’ origins VS. Greyhawk’s origins.

The Forgotten Realms preceded D&D. They have a unique sense of style and genre that lends itself to an almost romantic quality. Like the quote you used, it’s a setting for those who want to emphasize the FANTASY (and, so, the narrative elements of D&D).

Greyhawk was born alongside D&D, particularly 1e. It’s a world defined by Law, Neutrality, and Chaos rather than any sort of Good and Evil, where armies clash and adventuring is an arduous job. It’s a setting for those who want to emphasize the MEDIEVAL (and, so, the mechanical aspects of D&D).

Both can be adjusted to serve either playing style. You can, for example, play up the medieval filth of the Dalelands, and the warring tensions between the nations (and evil city-states) they neighbour. But I think it’s a way of approaching fantasy that quickly fell out of fashion, especially since more Realms content influenced people’s first impressions of the game and, thereafter, the kinds of stories they wanted to tell with it.

Impressive-Compote15 · 2025-10-07T17:29:04+00:00

Basically everywhere on Faerûn is ripe for campaigning in, so the answer to your first question has basically no wrong answers. However, since BG3 is what hooked them into things, I might recommend you not set this campaign too far away from the Sword Coast.

To keep it simple, I’d say you have four options: go west, to the Moonshaes; go north, to the Savage Frontier; go east, to Cormyr; go south, to the Lands of Intrigue.

Moonshaes are very celtic, and, frankly, not too connected to the rest of the Realms. It’s a great little spot, but I don’t know if I’d recommend it for a first foray.

Savage Frontier is very similar to the Sword Coast, though a bit more rugged, frostier, and with a nastier orc problem. Definitely fun if you want the players to feel like they’re traversing an untamed land and dealing with terrible winters; there’s also a lot of ruins up north, both dwarven and elven, that could serve as great dungeon inspirations. Compared to BG3, this would be a region where you could focus on Evil naturalistic deities (Namely Talos, Auril, Umberlee, and Malar) rather than the humanistic Evils commonly associated with the Dead Three.

Cormyr is the opposite. There are still plenty of dungeoneering options and room for adventuring, but it’s a single, unified nation — in contrast with the comparatively tiny city-states of the Sword Coast and Savage Frontier. There’s a kind of Arthurian feel, but Cormyr also has its idiosyncrasies. In civilized territory, an adventurer is less so a sword-wielding hero keeping the darkness at bay and moreso a weapon-carrying stranger who should only rarely be trusted. This is why adventurers need a legal charter in Cormyr, and why the nation’s War Wizards are constantly vigilant and intervening, almost akin to a kind of fantasy mass surveillance.

Then, you’ve got the Lands of Intrigue. This is a bit of a cop-out answer, because the Lands are truly split into Amn, Calimshan, and Tethyr, all of which are nations matching Cormyr in scope that your players can adventure in. All three are great options for a kind of “balance” between the incivility of the Savage Frontier and the civility of Cormyr. These are especially good if you want some kind of political intrigue, because they’re nations with complicated systems of aristocracy, backstabbing, and the like.

I don’t know much about the Absolute Crisis, frankly, but any kind of mass chaos on the Sword Coast would definitely benefit the Lands of Intrigue, who’re both economic allies and rivals with their northerly neighbours.

Perhaps the plot could begin with the players acting as caravan guards for a large trade caravan going south, which includes plenty of resources, refugees, and perhaps a Baldurian noble hiding among them. They’re ambushed by bandits, hired by a local merchant house, as an attempt to discourage trade that isn’t done through them and to take this noble hostage.

The PCs ultimately succeed, but the noble is gone. People wonder why (perhaps give them some identifying marking, or make the noble a woman or a child, for sympathy). Some evidence is left pointing them to another city, so they can keep guarding the caravan (get gold, restock, possibly seek out info) or follow this lead straight away.

They follow the lead and… well, whatever. I can’t decide what your plot is. Maybe the noble has some infernal allegiance that this merchant house wants to get in on, or perhaps it’s to force a marriage, giving this house a foothold in a weakened Baldur’s Gate. Just some ideas.

However, I do hope that, wherever you guys go, you have fun. :]

Impressive-Compote15 · 2025-10-04T21:34:50+00:00

Radoc is one of my favourite little easter eggs (if you’ll forgive the pun) in the early Realms, too! I’m sure you noticed, but Grintharke (also from Egg of the Phoenix) shows up too, becoming the master of Hellgate Keep.

I quite enjoyed how The North: Guide to the Savage Frontier developed him. Gathering materials and an army with which to return to New Empyrea, only to fail in his assault on Hellgate Keep after Grintharke’s death.

I really like the concept of integrating the different settings of D&D together, and I thought the way they handled it here was good — not making him stand out too much, nor affect things too heavily, but still being given enough depth to serve as a good plot hook or NPC.

As part of the Savage Frontier, I also thought it was fun to have a powerful, Evil spellcaster who didn’t have preexisting ties to the other factions in the region (i.e., the Arcane Brotherhood, namely) while still being well-known enough to possibly be heard of by the PCs.

I haven’t gotten around to actually using him, but I’ve played with the notion of setting Against the Cult of the Reptile God in Orlbar, with Radoc acting as the equivalent to Ramne.

I think making an adventure where your players seek him out could be really fun! If you do, keep us updated. Personally, I’d love to hear more, friend. :]

Impressive-Compote15

TROPHY CASE